


Around The World

by castiels little angel (castielslittlehunter)



Category: Jack Harries - Fandom, JacksGap, Video Blogging & YouTube RPF, youtube - Fandom
Genre: AO3 1 Million, F/M, Fanfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-09 15:26:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielslittlehunter/pseuds/castiels%20little%20angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily is a popular YouTuber who meets Jack Harries at VidCon! He knows who she is, but she doesn't know who he is! Lily and Jack become closer during their time together, and Lily feels something for Jack, but does Jack feel the same? And along comes a (widely known) ex-boyfriend that causes Lily to hop from country to country, while meeting viewers around the world and running from her past. Can Jack keep up with Lily? or will things fall apart in this YouTube romance?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ATL -> LAX -> Anaheim

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! This is a piece I've had for a while, that has only previously been posted on Tumblr, but not in its entirety. It's undergone pretty heavy editing, and is one of my favorite pieces that I've written, because I've enjoyed writing it, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it as well! Updates will be slow, especially since I've had to scrap the whole of chapter two, but other than that, most of it is written at this point. Enjoy!!  
> 

**Lily’s POV**

[arriving outfit](http://www.polyvore.com/lillys_outfit/set?id=103445826)

The plane touched down at LAX and I was excited. I was back in California for another awesome convention to meet more of my viewers, and hopefully see some ones I’ve met before as well. It had been a long flight from Georgia, but it was totally worth it. I walked off the plane into the busy terminal and waited for my iPhone to come back to life as I headed over to baggage claim. All I really needed for VidCon was my small carry-on suitcase, but after all the gifts I had gotten from meeting viewers at other conventions, I knew better than to pack without extra space. As my iPhone turned on, I checked for the time. I was surprised to see that it was only 12 pm, but then I remembered the three hour time difference between here and home. I picked up my things and headed over to rent a car to get down to Anaheim where my hotel was, and where VidCon was being held. After a 45 minute drive, I finally arrived and started unloading my things from the car.

"Need some help with that?" A voice asked. I spun around startled by the voice and came face to face with a tall guy. His hair was brown and styled to the right with hazel-green eyes, a smile on his face, and when he spoke I thought I heard an accent in his voice. "Hi, I’m Finn," he said, and stuck out his hand.

Yup, he definitely had an accent. British, by the sound of it.

"Lily," I managed to say, and shook his hand.

"So, Lily, do you need any help?" He asked again.

"Mmm," I thought about it for a minute. "Yeah sure that’d be great thanks," I accepted. I didn’t really need Finn’s help, but it would move things along quicker. As Finn pulled my suitcases out of the trunk, I walked around to the passenger side door to retrieve my laptop and camera bag, and walked back to Finn.

"These two are so light, it’s almost like there isn’t anything in there!" He exclaimed.

"Well only one of them is empty, so you’re partially right about that," I answered him, laughing a little.

"But why travel with an empty bag?"

"Well my sub-" I started, then stopped. I didn’t want to have him think I was bragging, and he might not even know what YouTube is for all I know. "I get a lot of things when I travel, so I need some place to put them so they can get home with me safely. Plus I’m going to Disneyland at the end of the week and I’ll probably go home with a lot of Disney haul." I explained. Better to play it safe than to come across bragging.

"Oh really? Me too!"

"That’s awesome! Maybe I’ll see you around then?" I said. I needed to go check in and settle in to make a video for my main channel. Even though I’m three hours behind my normal time, I still felt like I needed to rush, even though I had plenty of time.

"Yeah, maybe." Finn responded.

"Well, I’ve got to go check in. It was great meeting you Finn, and I hope to see you in Disney!"

"You too Lily," Finn said, and I went inside the air conditioned hotel to check in.

**Finn’s POV**

'I can't believe I just met THE LilyRose and had a conversation with her! Jack is not going to believe this. I just met his crush before he did. Oh man he's going to be mad!' I thought to myself. 'I'm not that surprised she didn't recognize me though, she said she didn't watch a lot of YouTube herself for creative purposes in one of her videos.' I pulled out my iPhone and texted my brother.

_**Finn:** got a surprise 4 u back at the hotel._

_**Jack:** what is it?_

_**Finn:** you’ll just have to wait and see mate._

I laughed a little, and locked my iPhone. I grabbed my penny board and went for a ride. I thought back to my conversation with Lily and analyzed it in my head. ‘She was about to say subscribers, and then didn’t. I guess she doesn’t know that I know who she is. I wonder if she’s in town for VidCon, though. I didn’t see her on the list. I’ll just check again later. I should’ve asked her to hang out or something. Damn it. At least I know she’ll be going to Disneyland on Friday. I hope we can find her in such a large place, but knowing Jack he’ll look all day for her.’

I rode for a little while longer, and then decided to turn around and go back to the hotel. Maybe I can run into Lily again, who knows?

**Lily’s POV**

After finally checking in, settling down and making a video, I was getting pretty hungry and in desperate need of caffeine. It was about 3, so I grabbed my messenger bag, stuffed my computer, camera and wallet inside, grabbed my phone and set out to the nearest Starbucks. Whilst at Starbucks, I saw a familiar face. “Hey Finn!” I said, calling him over and inviting him to sit with me. He looked confused, so I motioned for him to come over to me again. He walked over slowly, a confused look on his face. “I guess we’re seeing each other sooner than expected, huh?” I said, and laughed a little. He just stood there, looking at me weirdly. “Well don’t just stand there Finn, have a seat! What’re you drinking?” I asked. Finn seemed to break out of whatever haze he was in and snapped back into the conversation.

"Oh! You must be mistaken, I’m Jack!"

"No…" I said. Now I was the one giving him confused looks. "You’re definitely Finn! I like just met you an hour ago!"

"I was working an hour ago. I’m Jack, Finn is my twin brother."

"I’m so confused?" I said, and then looked at Finn, who was apparently someone else named Jack, a bit closer. The hair color, eyes, and accent were all the same. But "Jack" had mischievous smile, his voice was just slightly higher pitched, and his hair was up and to the left instead of up and to the right. I was thinking about these differences when Jack walked away. I was going to call him back after I noticed he had left but he came back on his own, with a drink in his hand. "So…you’re Jack then?"

"Yup," he said, laughing a little. "And Finn’s my twin brother."

"Ah I see."

"So Lily…whatcha working on?"

"How did you kno-"

"I watch your videos."

"Oh? You do?"

"Yeah, we do," Jack said, and looked down at his coffee, blushing a little.

"We?"

"Finn and I."

"Ah. Right. Anyway, I just finished editing and uploading a new video." I said, closing my laptop.

"Really?" Jack said and pulled out his iPhone. "That you did."

"Hey Jack what time is it?"

"Uhh it’s about 3:30."

"Oh shit. I have to go!" I said standing up quickly. "It was great meeting you Jack, even if I did mistake you for Finn."

"It was good to finally meet you too Lily."

"Are you going to VidCon?"

"Yes of course! I kinda said I was going to show up so…yeah."

"Well then I hope to see you tomorrow! And if not tomorrow then Disney Day. Bye Jack!"

"Bye Lily," He said. I ran out of Starbucks as fast as I could, and jumped in the car. I was supposed to meet my good friend Tyler at 3:45 for lunch and then a collab for his channel and then my channel after. Driving away, I had the strange feeling I was forgetting something, but I pushed the thought back and rushed to meet Tyler.

**Jack’s POV**

As I watched the girl I had a massive crush on walk out of Starbucks, realization hit me. I just had a half an hour conversation with Lily Rose Campbell. I just had a half an hour conversation with the girl I’ve been wanting to meet for the past year and a half. As I got up to leave, something on the table caught my eye. As I turned my attention to it, I realized it was a champagne iPhone 5s. And it wasn’t mine. I picked it up and hit the lock button. The screen lit up and the background was a picture of Harry Styles of One Direction and Lily. “Uh oh, she’s definitely going to need this!” I said, and ran out of Starbucks, phones in hand, hoping to catch her, but she was nowhere to be found. I walked over to the car Finn and I had rented, and drove back to the hotel.

"Finny!" I called, once in our room.

"Yeah mate?" He said, coming into the main room.

"Why didn’t you tell me you met, and had a conversation with, Lily?"

"Surprise!"

"That’s the surprise you texted me about?"

"Yeah."

"I just had a full out conversation with her. She thought I was you. Then I cleared it up for her, and it was just awesome. She’s in town for VidCon, like us."

"I know. She’s going to Disneyland too."

"I know. Anyway, she left in a rush and long story short, I have her phone," I said, and pulled it out to show him.

"Oh wow, good going Jack, instead of getting her number, you get the whole phone."

"She left it! And I don’t think she’d have given me her number anyway."

"Why’s that?"

"Because I told her we watch her videos. And I remember her saying in a video once that she doesn’t watch YouTube much herself and that’s why she didn’t know who we are, which is fine, but, y’know…" I trailed off. "Does she have stage time or a meet & greet?"

"Yeah stage tomorrow at noon and a meet and greet right after."

"We’re going."

"If you say so Jackamo."


	2. London? Not Quite Yet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah! So I rewrote chapter two...which means another update!! (yes I am aware that it is 4:17 am but do I care? no! {well kinda but it's a snow day}) It's better than waiting weeks for it...right?

**Jack’s POV**

‘Today is the day.’ I thought to myself as I got up and prepared for the day in front of me. I was going to see Lily again and talk to her and return her phone, which buzzed once again on the nightstand right next to my own phone. It had been buzzing almost all night, with texts from Tyler Oakley and other names I didn’t recognize. I took the liberty of charging her phone for her, so that she wouldn’t have to abandon it to charge for the day in her room. I grabbed her phone and my own, and headed down with Finn to meet the others for breakfast.

The morning passed by in a blur, posing for pictures, signing various items, and hosting a panel, as well as mainstage time with Tyler where he interviewed Finn and I. Soon it was time for lunch, but also time for Lily’s stage time. Finn walked off to find some food, but I headed in the direction of the main stage. By the time I had got there, she’d already begun talking. Or taking questions, rather. As I entered the room, I heard her answer to a question that had been previously asked.

“What kind of phone do I have?” She repeated. ‘’I have a champagne, which is gold, iPhone 5s, but I seem to have misplaced it...So if any of you find it, kindly return it to me please, thank you.”

Well, if ever an opportunity, this seemed like the perfect one to me. “I found it!” I screamed. “I have your phone!”

She looked in my direction, and I slowly walked down the aisle to her. She blinked her eyes in recognition, and then laughed in the most adorable way possible. “Jack Harries, everyone,” she introduced as I reached the stage and handed her the slender device. She gave me a soft smile, and then her eyes lit up with an idea. “Jack, why don’t you join me up here?”

“I’ve already had my stage time today,” I replied, even though there was nothing I wanted more than to be up there with her.

“Why don’t we ask my flowers then? What do you all think of Jack joining me on stage?”

The crowd cheered loudly, and Lily looked back at me. “There you have it, Jack. They want you to come join the party.”

“Okay, okay,” I responded with a laugh, and hopped up on stage.

“Go get mic’ed up. We’ll be waiting for you to come back,” she said, and I ran backstage to do so.

**Lily’s POV**

Jack ran backstage to get a mic hooked up to him, and as he did so, my phone rang. I pulled the fully charged device from my back pocket, and checked the caller id. It was Harry, and I nearly dropped the phone. I sent the call to voicemail, and saw that he had texted me throughout the night, probably drunkenly. It was a good thing I didn’t have my phone, otherwise I might’ve actually replied. Jack came back out, and I fixed my composure, and continued on with my question and answer session that had gotten a lot more fun now that Jack was with me. The stage time flew by, and so did the meet & greet. Jack stayed with me through it all, and I was grateful to have someone to talk to. After that conundrum, Jack and I wandered around the convention center, making polite conversation and stopping to take pictures with viewers along the way.

“Are you doing anything tonight?” Jack asked me out of the blue.

“Just packing. Why?” I asked. Is he going to take me out on a date??

“A bunch of us are getting together and going out to eat tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to.,” he explained.

Oh. Not a date.

“I’d really like it if you we’re there...I mean we all would like it, if you were there,” he said, quickly correcting himself.

“Yeah, sure. I’d love to go,” I accepted his invitation before I could change my mind. It’s my last night out here anyway, I might as well spend it with the one I like…a lot.

“Just give me your number so you can text me when you’re ready…” he said. Jack and I exchanged numbers, and we wandered around a while longer.

“You said you were packing, as in like you’re leaving?”

“Mhm. I leave tomorrow morning.”

**Lily's POV**

I looked up at the departure board while waiting impatiently in my seat. 'Ten minutes to London.' I thought. Though it wasn't necessary for me to leave right after VidCon was over, I was doing it anyway. Summer In The City wasn't for another two weeks, but I couldn't go home. I hadn't been to England in two years, and I need to familiarize myself with my surroundings again. Plus, Harry would be in town soon, and I just wasn't ready to see him again. Not yet, anyway, and not without a friend. My flight was called, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I stood up to leave. "Wait!" I heard a familiar voice call. "Lily!" I turned around to see the twins running towards me, along with Caspar and Marcus. I stood there and waited, not sure of what to do, and within seconds, I was lying on the floor. "Sorry," Caspar said, "I couldn't stop."

"I can tell."

Jack reached me, and helped me up off the floor. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Just a little disoriented."

"Nice going mate," Finn said, and picked my carry on bags up off the floor.

"Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?" Marcus asked.

"Uh...yeah?"

"Why?" Caspar asked.

"There's someone coming to town soon that I don't really want to see..."

"Aw, come on Lily, it'll be okay," Finn said. "You won't have to see them."

"Please stay. Finny and I want to make a video with you." Jack said.

"So do I." Caspar said. "And I almost never do collabs."

"I do too." Marcus chimed in.

"And I'm sure a lot of other YouTubers back at the hotel and the house do too." Jack pleaded.

"I just...I...Okay. Fine. I'll stay."

"Yes!" the boys chimed.

"On one condition."

"Anything," Jack promised.

"Don't make me regret this."

 

Back at the house the YouTubers had rented, I was greeted by so many people. Some I had met at previous conventions, some I met this time, and others I didn't know. Marcus went to go find someone named Connor so they could do a collab video. I set my things down in the living room, and started to think. But it wasn't long before someone walked in. He had bright blue-green eyes, dark hair and his voice was kinda raspy.

"HEY JOE WHERE'S THE—" he stopped mid sentence, and looked at me. I looked at him, and something about him felt familiar.

"Sawyer?" I asked. I hoped to God I was right. I hadn't seen Sawyer since we were kids. We'd been so close, but my family moved away, and I never saw him again.

"Lily? Oh my God it's been so long!" He exclaimed. I jumped up to hug him, and he picked me up.

"Jesus Sawyer I've missed you so much!" I screamed. He put me down.

"It's been forever oh my God Lil. What're you doing here?"

"Well, I was at VidCon, and then I was on my way to London for Summer In The City, but Jack, Finn, Marcus and Caspar stopped me. They convinced me to stay later and then fly out with them in a week or two. What're you doing here?"

"I run a YouTube channel! I'm here for VidCon too! But you're just hitting up all the conventions, aren't you?"

"Well I kinda told them I would so..."

"Told who?"

"The people arranging it. They ask me to do some panels or meet ups and I tell them I'm available, so I do it."

"Wait, you have a YouTube channel as well?"

"Yeah. But I don't watch much YouTube myself. It's my way of staying creative and original. But it's not really working well because a lot of people seem to know me, and, well, I don't know them."

"Well I can help you with that."

"Thanks Sawyer. I've been watching a little but your help would be just perfect."

"We could do a collab too."

"I'd love to. Considering my lack of YouTube knowledge, it makes it kind of hard to do collabs with new people."

"Well here's your chance. Right now, how about I introduce you to some of the talent we have in-house? You can put your things in my room for now."

"Thanks Sawyer, you're the best. After this, we'll catch up, yeah?"

"You got it," Sawyer said, and flashed me a smile. He showed me to his room, and I left my belongings on his bed.


	3. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! It's been a while since I've updated, eh? Well I am trying my best to make updates more regular, and I've been focusing on writing more, so a lot of it is already written and done. So much is written that when I checked how far it is on here, I was surprised to see that it's so far behind. Oh well. Enjoy!

**Jack's POV**

Sawyer called us all down to the den to do some introductions. It seems he's already made his acquaintance with Lily, but he's buddying her up like there's no tomorrow. 'Stop it Jack,' I thought to myself. 'She's not even yours man. What's the problem? She barely knows anyone here, so she's going to end up talking to everyone.' I knew my conscience was right. Why was I being so...so...jealous?

"Jack!" I heard someone say, pulling me back into reality.

"Sorry, what?" I said, trying to figure out who had said my name.

"I said," Sawyer repeated himself, "introduce yourself a little and if you'd be interested in making a collab with Lil here."

"Oh. Right. I'm Jack, um...I'm 20 years old, I can unicycle, I'm from the UK, and yes, I'd love to make a collab with you Lily."

"You forgot to mention the part where you fancy her." Alfie said, in a voice that only Finn and I could hear. I elbowed him in the side. After the introductions, everyone went back to what they were doing before Sawyer had called us all down, which means Finn and I went back to setting up to film a new JacksGap video. I wanted to talk to Lily about ideas for our videos together, but she was deep in an animated conversation with Sawyer, so I only asked her to come and see me later. Before getting ready to film, I decided to browse Lily's channel a bit. I've seen just about every video of hers except for a few. When the page loaded, I was surprised to see a new video, since it wasn't Wednesday, when her videos are normally posted. And the video was only posted a few hours ago. I looked at the name of it, and discovered it was part of her "My Thoughts" series. Whenever she has something she needs to say or express in some way, she makes a My Thoughts video. Sometimes they're edited, other times they're not, but they're my favourite videos of hers, because she's putting her thoughts out there and it makes me feel like I know her more in some kind of way. 'Now you really do know her," I thought. I clicked on the video, plugged in my headphones, and waited for it to load. It didn't take long before her voice reached my ears.

"Hey you guys," she began. "So I've just had an amazing time at VidCon, and got to meet a bunch of you guys! I also got to meet and spend time with a bunch of YouTubers! I just had an awesome time. You guys gave me a lot of cool stuff too, and I will make a video of it all as soon as I get home, I promise. Currently I am waiting to board my plane to go to London for Summer In The City, which really isn't for like another two weeks, but I need to spend some time there again taking pictures and reminding myself of the layout since I haven't been there for two years. I just thought I'd check in with you guys, and tell you a little story since I have like two more hours to wait for this plane. When I was a little kid, I met this boy named Sawyer. I think his last name was Hartman. Yeah, Sawyer Hartman. That sounds about right. So Sawyer and I were pretty close, but then my family moved away. And not close by, either. We moved from Vero Beach, Florida, all the way to Campbell, New York. Which is ironic, considering my last name, but whatever. Sawyer and I were the best of friends, and we always talked about moving to like Georgia or California together because we would be best friends forever. But we were kids, and time went on, and Sawyer and I lost touch. Ever since we were little he talked about making films and I hope he did just that. Secretly I've been looking for him since I moved to Georgia, but I've had no luck. Since I'm not home much anyway, he could be there and I wouldn't even know. Anyway, Sawyer, if you happen to see this, which I doubt it, but I hope you're making your films like you've always wanted to. Anyway guys, I think I'm going to go and find some food or whatever now. And if somehow you see this and you happen to be in the airport and you see me, come say hi! I love it when you guys see me out and say hi. It makes my day. Bye flowers!"

The video ended and I took my headphones off, closed my laptop, sat back in my chair, and started thinking. 'Well that explains the whole Sawyer thing. But I still have these feelings of jealousy. I don't even know why.' There was a knock at my bedroom door, pulling me out of my thoughts, so I went to go see who it was. I opened the door and standing there was just the person I needed to talk to. Marcus.

**Lily's POV**

Sawyer and I were by the pool catching up, dangling our legs in the water. It had been so long since we'd seen each other, almost 14 years. If you had told me that I was going to see him again, the same day I posted a video about not seeing him for so long, I probably wouldn't have believed you. But yet here we were sitting by the pool, filling in the past fourteen years for each other. And to think I was going to jet off to England today. I took a selfie of the two of us, and opened Twitter and Instagram to put it up. "Huh," I said, scrolling through my mentions.

"What is it?" Sawyer asked, leaning over to see my phone.

"I posted a video about you while I was waiting in the airport this morning and a lot of my viewers have been tweeting your channel and twitter account to me. I probably wouldn't have even seen this until tomorrow." I explained. Sawyer pulled out his iPhone and opened Twitter as well.

"I see what you mean. Would you look at that, we share some viewers!" He said, showing me a tweet with my video attached that said "@SawyerHartman I think @LilyRose is looking for you."

"Woah. I said, and posted the picture of Sawyer and I with the caption: finally found @SawyerHartman after 14 years. what an indescribable happiness." Sawyer retweeted it, and watched the video I made about him this morning. While he was doing that, I followed him and the other YouTubers I met today on Twitter and Instagram, and subscribed to their YouTube channels. Just then I got a text from Tyler.

Tyler: Girl I canNOT believe you knew Sawyer since you guys were little! If I had known you've been looking for him I could've connected you two! So happy you two had your reunion though.

Lily: Well I didn't think you'd know him! Life is funny that way. We're filling in the gaps now, it's insane knowing how if Jack didn't convince me to stay a little longer, I would've left without even knowing Sawyer was here,

Tyler: Wait you're still in L.A.?

Lily: yh. was going to leave this morning but Jack, Finn, Caspar & Marcus found me at the airport. will explain in full later. ttyl.

Tyler: bye!

"So you were going to leave for London this morning?" Sawyer turned to me and asked. "Why so soon?"

"It's a long story," I said, and looked at my iPhone for the time. It was already 7 and I had to talk with the twins at some point about our collab. "I'll explain it all later. I hate to leave you Sawyer, especially since it's been so long, but I need to go talk to Jack and Finn about our collab. I'll see you in an hour or two, yeah?"

"Oh yeah, I understand. But I'm not sure if we're going out tonight, so I might not be around," Sawyer said, and took my phone. "Here's my number," he said, putting it in. "So if you jet off to the UK while I'm out, we won't lose touch."

I laughed, and put my number in his phone. "I promise I won't leave in the middle of the night. We still need to make our videos!" I exclaimed, standing up and giving him a hug. "It's great seeing you again Sawyer. I hope we don't lose each other ever again." I said into his chest.

"You and me both," he replied. After a minute or two, we let go, and I went off to find the twins. I had no idea where their room was so I wandered around the house, going from room to room looking for them. I walked up the main staircase and wandered down the hall until I heard voices that sounded familiar. I reached the room and was about to knock when I heard Jack say "I really like her mate. Every time I see her I get so excited, and the feeling she gives me is like none other. She's just...perfect." Upon hearing this, I decided to listen for a little. I heard Marcus say "Does she know you like her mate? Because I feel like she should."

"No. She doesn't know. I don't know how to tell her man."

Before I could hear any more, I heard someone coming down the hall, so I decided now would be a good time to let Jack know I was at his door. I knocked, and waited for him to open the door.

**Jack's POV**

I was talking to Marcus when there was a knock at my door. Thinking it was Finn, I didn't bother putting on a shirt and opened the door. Standing there was Lily, and I watched her as her eyes roamed over my chest, and back up to my face.

"Uh..." She started, her cheeks turning pink. "I...ah...came to talk to you and Finn about our video?"

"I'm gonna go mate," Marcus said, leaving my room. "Talk later, yeah?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, and turned back to Lily. "Finny should be back soon, but you can come in and we can talk, since Finny is just an accessory."

She laughed and my insides turned to Jell-O. "Yeah sure Jackson. Whatever you say." I usually don't like my full name, but there's something about the way she says it that made me love it.

"How do you know my full name?" I asked, curious.

"I do my homework, Jackson Frayn Harries."

"I see," I commented, and sat down on my bed beside her. "So, any ideas for our videos?"

"Not really. I mean we could do a Q&A or a Getting To Know You video or some kind of competition," She said. "Wait! I think I have one! Or two, really."

"Okay, shoot."

"For my channel, I could have you guess the meanings of American slang and for your channel you could have me guess the meanings of British slang."

"Sounds good to me," I said. Just then Finn walked in. "Finny! We just came up with our collab idea."

"What is it?" Finn asked, setting down the bags full of food.

"Okay," Lily began, "so for my channel I'm going to quiz you and Jack here on American slang, and for your channel you and Jack are going to quiz me on British slang!"

"Cool. When're we going to film it?" Finn asked.

"Mmm...We can film now, I guess, if it's alright with you guys." Lily said.

"Yeah that's alright," Finn and I responded together.

"Great. Let me just go get my camera," Lily said, and left the room.

"Jack go put on a shirt," Finn said.

"I'm going to ask her out Finny. On a date. I'm going to ask her out on a date."

"Finally," Finn snorted.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'. Jack you've fancied this girl since the day you first found her videos. She's all you ever talk about. She's the one you turned to when you weren't yourself. All you evert talked about was meeting her. And now that you have, all you want to do is be with her. When you found out she was leaving this morning, you ran after her, and dragged me, Marcus and Caspar along with you. And then when Sawyer was introducing her to everyone, it was like you couldn't stand her being so close to him."

"I can't."

"Exactly. Even though she just met the guy."

"She didn't."

"Uh yeah she did."

"No, she didn't. I'll explain later. She should be back soon."

"Okay, but it's about time," Finn said. Just then Lily came back.

"Sorry it took me so long, twinsies, I couldn't find Sawyer's room. So who's video are we going to film first?"

**Lily's POV**

"Hi guys! So today I have a very special video for y'all. At VidCon, I had the chance to meet other YouTubers, and I'm getting to do a bunch of collabs, which is something y'all rarely see on my channel, due to my own fault. So today, I am joined by two twins that y'all probably know, Jack and Finn."

"Hello there, my name is Jack."

"I AM FINN!"

After about an hour and a half of laughing, giggling, being weird, and snacking, we were finally done with my video. I couldn't stop watching Jack, my God he was so adorable. 'How could I run away from this? Every time I'm with him or I see him I just can't stop smiling. I'm just constantly happy when I'm with him. He's just so intoxicating. He probably has a girlfriend though.' I thought. My smile faltered a little.

"Lily," Jack said, in his adorable British accent, "is there something wrong?"

I looked into his eyes, and plastered a fake smile on my face. "Nah, I'm okay." 'He's probably not even into you.' I thought. 'The hot ones never are.'

 

~A few days later~

 

"Lily! We're all going to the One Direction concert tonight. Care to join us? We have backstage passessss," Joey said in a slightly sing song tone.

"Mmm..." I thought about it. I wasn't quite ready to see Harry again, not after the way things ended. It was a while ago, but still. It hasn't helped that he called me at VidCon and has been texting me, either. "Nah, I'm good. I'll just do a liveshow and answer questions or something."

"Why don't you start now?" Caspar asked.

"Sure, why not," I said. "Tell the others to get in here and tweet about it."

"Woo!" Caspar screamed, and ran out of the room.

 

@LilyRose: twitcam w/ @JoeyGraceffa @CasparLee @ZozeeBo @JacksGap @FinnHarries @SawyerHartman @sprinkleofglittr @gracehelbig + more in 5min!!

 

Once everyone was in the room, I started the twitcam, and recorded it so everyone who might miss it would be able to see it later. "Hi guys! Usually I tell you guys about my live streams a few days before, but since the gang here is going out to a concert soon, I figured, why not do one now? Really random, I know," I explained. Jack was sitting next to me, and I was trying so hard not to look at him. He didn't make it any easier for me when he put his arm around me. I looked at him for a second, and then turned back to my computer. After about half an hour of giving away things, answering questions, playing a few games with the fans and just enjoying each other's company, they had to go to the concert. I gave them all hugs and said goodbye.

"Lily, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, Jackson, I'll be okay. Don't worry about me," I said, reassuring him.

"Alright then," he said, hugging me and kissing me on my forehead. "See you when we come back."

"See you soon," Sawyer said giving me a long hug. He was the only one who knew why I didn't want to go, and where I'd be going instead. I watched them leave, and turned my attention back to the twitcam that was still going on. "Okay," I said, clapping my hands. "Time for a little Q&A, yeah? So tweet your questions with the hashtag #AskLily and I'll do my best to answer as many as I can." I opened twitter on my iPhone and started scrolling through my mentions and the hashtag I had asked my viewers to use. "Here's a popular one," I said and read the tweet aloud. "'@LilyRose are you and @JacksGap dating? #AskLily'" I laughed and then answered the question. "No you guys, we're not dating. I just met him a few days ago." I scrolled through and answered a few more questions, until I found one from a British viewer. "@LilyRose when are you coming to the UK?" I sighed, and answered it. "First of all, it's awesome that you're still up to watch my live stream, especially when you're 8hrs ahead of me right now. I'm actually flying out tonight. I'm leaving," I looked at my watch, "well I'm supposed to leave now. So to answer your question, I'm on my way right now," I laughed. "It's been great talking to you all, but I've got to go now. Byeeeee!" I said, and signed off. I gathered my things and headed to the airport.

**Jack's POV**

I hated leaving her there alone, I really did. I wanted to be with her, hold her. I wanted her to be mine. I thought about all of these things and more, but I mostly thought about her.

"Hello? Earth to Jack!" Finn said, waving his hand in front of my face. "Dude, WHAT is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I...nothing," I said.

"Anxious to get back and ask her out?" Alfie asked.

"Wait, you didn't ask her yet?" Finn chimed.

"I...no," I said. "We've both been so busy lately, so I thought I'd ask her when we get back."

"If we get back in time," Marcus said.

"Sorry, what?" I asked. What does he mean 'if we get back in time?'

“Nothing Jack. Let’s just enjoy the concert,” Marcus said. A few minutes passed, and soon enough the crowd was cheering for us. I waved and smiled and took a few pictures with Finn and viewers. After about half an hour of that, everyone started to die down and return their attention to the concert. It seemed to be starting now anyway. I had a good time with my friends, but all I could think about was Lily. What was Marcus talking about when he said ‘If we get back in time’? Soon the time had come for us to go backstage and meet the band. I wasn’t really one for the whole backstage thing, but Tyler had set it all up, and we had obliged. We chatted with the boys for a while, and were generally enjoying one another’s company, until Harry spoke up.

“Where’s Lily?” He asked all of us. All of us except for Tyler, Marcus, and Sawyer looked at him like he had grown another head, until I spoke up.

“How do you know Lily?” I asked. There was something in his eyes that told me he had a secret, something to do with her, but he wasn’t saying anything.

“I keep up with the current times. That and the fact that-”

“She wasn’t feeling well,” Sawyer interjected. “She would’ve loved to come, but she wasn’t feeling well and had things to do,” he explained on Lily’s behalf. I decided that once we got back to the house, I was going to ask her about it. She’d tell me, right?

**Lily’s POV**

The airport was crowded as usual, but I fought my way through the crowd nonetheless. Once again, I was running away from my problems, but worst of all, I was running away from Jack. It’s not that I wanted to, but I knew that if I stayed in town any longer, Harry would find me. And I wasn’t ready to talk to him. Two years had gone by since that night, and I still wasn’t ready. I looked down at my phone, and waited for them to call my flight. I just stared at my lockscreen, and a part of me was relieved that I had changed it from a picture of Harry and I, to a picture of Jack and I that Zoe had taken when we weren’t paying attention. It helped me put the two year old incident to bed just a little bit more. And for that, I was grateful. As they called my flight, I picked up my carry-on, and looked over my shoulder to make sure that they couldn’t catch up to me now. I was sure that Sawyer, Tyler, and Marcus would stall them long enough so that I could escape. Not just Harry, but Jack also. If Jack had found me, he’d ask me to stay, and I would in a moment. But I just couldn’t risk being here any longer. I boarded the plane, and gave California my goodbyes as I settled in for my flight to London.


	4. Amazing Dates and Painful Heartbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back...back again!! and my 16th birthday is in 17 days (March 27) !!!!! asdfghjkl. well I hope you like this update. please don't kill me.

**Jack’s POV**

(a few days later)

I was complete shit. Marcus was holding my phone hostage, and no one would tell me anything, not even my own goddamn brother. Everyday I asked where Lily was, and every day I was met with silence. Some just genuinely didn’t know, but that didn’t stop them from giving me pitiful looks. Today, however, was the day that I was going to corner Sawyer and ask him what the fuck was up, and where Lily had gone. I needed to know before we left for home tomorrow.

“Sawyer,” I said, catching him in the kitchen.

“Hey Jack. Wow, you look like shit,” he said, laughing.

“I know you know where Lily is, and what happened to her. I need you to tell me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know you do! Harry Styles just doesn’t casually ask if he can hang out with us here! And I know he was going to say something about her, but you said she wasn’t feeling well before he could say anything! And then we come back and she’s just gone. Please Sawyer, I need to know where she is. I’m a complete mess without her.”

“Jack...do you like her?”

“Yes. Now please Sawyer, tell me where she is.” I trailed off.

Sawyer sighed, put his glass of orange juice down, and pulled out his phone from his back pocket, and looked at me again. “She’s currently in England. London, to be exact, with Dan and Phil.”

I was over the moon to find out that she was in my country, yet disappointed in myself for not thinking of that. I thanked Sawyer, and ran to Finn and I’s room to get my things. We were leaving for London tomorrow night, but I couldn’t wait that long. I needed to see Lily, to hug her, to smell her perfume, and I needed it now. I needed her now.

“Jack?” Finn asked, looking up from his MacBook. “Where are you going, mate? We don’t leave until tomorrow night.”

“I’ve found her,” I said, by way of explanation. “She’s in London. I’m leaving now.”

“Jack,”

“Yes Finn?”

“I’ll drive you,” he said. With that, he grabbed the keys, and we left for the airport.

 

**Lily’s POV**

It’s been a great first few days back in England. I’ve been familiarizing myself with the country again, and meeting lots of lovely viewers along the way. I’ve been staying with Dan and Phil since I arrived and they’ve been great about it, even though I called them at the last minute. “Right now,” I said to my vlogging camera. “I am on the tube on my way back home. It’s been a great day meeting some of you guys, but now I’ve got to go cook, since it’s my turn to do so tonight.” I got off the tube and walked over towards Dan and Phil’s flat, with bags in my hand. I put my camera away and proceeded to climb the stairs, and unlock the door with the key that Dan had given me. “Dan, Phil, I’m back!” I said, locking the door behind me, and turning back around, dropping the groceries in the process. There, standing right in front of me, was Jackson Harries, the very same one who had been on my mind ever since I left California without saying goodbye. “Jack,” I breathed. He scooped me up into a hug and I was enveloped in his scent.

“You just left without saying goodbye…” he murmured, still holding me in his arms. It was then that I broke down and started crying. He didn’t say anything, he just held me closer to him as I cried, and walked us over to the couch. When my tears had reduced to mere sniffles, Jack looked at me again. “Lily,” he began, but I cut in. I knew what was coming next.

“Look Jack I’m sorry about that, and I’m sorry for leaving and not telling anyone, but I understand if you don’t want to hang out anymore, and I-”

“No Lily just listen to me for a second,” Jack said, cutting my tangent short. “I’ve been trying to get the courage for this since we met, and I can’t let you disappear without at least asking you first, so here it is. Lily, I’ve been watching your videos for a while, and they’ve, you’ve, helped me through a lot of times. I know you’ve only known me for a few weeks, but I really fancy you a lot. Would you go on a date with me, or coffee or something?”

I looked up at Jack with a surprised look on his face. I didn’t think he’d felt the same as I did, but it turns out I was wrong. Now here he is, standing at the cliff, asking me to jump with him. Well, here goes nothing. “Yes Jack. I’d love to,” I said, taking the plunge with him. And that was when he kissed me.

 

**Jack’s POV**

She had said yes. Lily had actually said yes to a date with me, and I was so excited that I only thought to do one thing, to kiss her. And I did just that. Her lips were soft, and tasted like strawberries and cream. I would’ve, could’ve, been sat there kissing her all day, if it wasn’t for Dan’s incessant clapping in the background, and Phil telling him to leave us alone. When Lily and I came up for air, Dan said, “So when’s dinner? I’m starving and would like to eat before I have to go to the radio show, please.” Lily’s cheeks flamed up, and she jumped up to start cooking right away. I moved to help her, but she shot me a look, and said “Oh no you don’t, Jackson. You CANNOT cook for your LIFE!”

“I can too cook!” I informed her. “That was a bloody challenge and I sure as hell couldn’t let Finn win!

“Yeah, okay,” she mumbled. “Besides, what I’m cooking is a family dish, so there’s no recipe to follow, it’s all in my head.”

I stood in the kitchen doorway, and watched Lily cook, helping out where I could. Soon enough, dinner was ready, and even sooner, Dan and Phil were gone. I stayed with her, and we sat watching the telly for a while, my arm around her, and her head on my chest. After the programme had ended, I broke our silence.

"When do you want to go out?"

She stayed quiet for a while, then turned to me after a moment. “Sometime this week, obviously. But before Summer in the City though, so we don’t, ah, bring on too much attention? I want to give this a fair chance before YouTube gets involved.”

“Understandable,” I said in response. As much as I loved my viewers, they could be overwhelming sometimes. I’d seen it happen with Alfie and Zoe. Even though they were already dating, things could become out of hand real fast.

Just then Lily’s phone rang, and she diverted her attention away from us to the ringing device. She didn’t answer, though, just grimaced at the screen and silenced the call, letting it go to voicemail. “Hey Jack?” She asked me in her beautiful voice.

“Yeah?”

“Could you, um, stay over? I know you’ve just gotten back and all but I don’t like being alone all that much, and I’m not sure when Dan and Phil will be coming back…” She asked of me, trailing off. I didn’t even take time to think, I just gave her a quick nod in response. I’d do anything for her in a heartbeat; so this was nothing at all.

 

**Lily’s POV**

Harry had called me again last night. But this time I wasn’t alone, this time I had Jack. Or was close to having him, anyway. Would he accept me if he knew my past? Would he help protect me from him, keep me out of harm’s way? These are the questions I had to ask now, not only for my safety, but for his as well. And with this new relationship possibly beginning, could I really run forever? Jack means a lot to me, and I don’t want to hurt him, and I certainly want to give this new relationship with him a try. But with my constant country hopping, would a relationship even be possible? These worries attacked my mind as I got ready for my date with Jack. We had chosen Wednesday night as our date night, and Jack had picked where. He wouldn’t tell me though, my only instructions were to dress casually, so I did just that. Just then, Dan popped his head into his guest room, where I was staying. “Jack’s here Lily,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll be out in a moment,” I replied, and checked to make sure I had everything. Phone? Check. Keys? Check. Money? Check. I looked at my camera, and put it safely in it’s bag. Though it was begging for me to take it, I knew better. Tonight was for Jack and I, and any pictures I want to take can be taken on my phone. Plus, I misplace things way too easily, and the last thing I wanted was to accidentally leave my Canon 5D wherever we were going. I shut off the lights, and walked out the room and into the lounge to see Jack standing there, talking to Phil. He looked absolutely adorable, and I couldn’t help but noticed that we matched with our blue flannel shirts and dark washed jeans. What’s more, we were both wearing our glasses. Phil looked from Jack to me and back to Jack again. “Did you two plan this?”

“No,” I laughed, and Jack laughed with me.

“Ready to go?” Jack asked me, and held out his hand. I laughed a little, and graciously accepted it.

Once outside, Jack walked over to his car, a little red Mini Cooper. I walked over to the passenger side, and Jack looked at me funnily. “What?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, love,” he began. “But unless you are driving, you’re on the wrong side.”

I peered into the car, and saw that he was right. I was on the driver’s side of the vehicle. I mentally smacked myself for having forgotten that it’s flipped in England. “Right,” I muttered, slightly embarrassed, and walked around to the correct side of the car. Just as I reached to grab the handle, Jack opened the door for me, and I looked at him in surprise. “What?” He asked. “Never had a door opened for you before?”

“That doesn’t typically happen in my country,” I responded, astounded at his actions.

“Well it should happen for you all the time,” Jack remarked, and closed the door. In a moment, he was in the driver’s seat, starting up the car.

“Where to, Mr. Harries?” I asked, hoping he’d tell me.

Jack just chuckled. “You’ll just have to wait and see,” he said. and with that, we were off.

 

**Jack’s POV**

It seemed like Lily and I had been here for only five minutes, but we had gotten here almost three hours ago. When I’d pulled into the fairgrounds, her eyes had lit up with delight.

“Jack,” she’d whispered. “You brought me to a fair?”

“Yeah...I was hoping you’d like it.”

“Like it? I LOVE IT! I haven’t gone to a fair in forever. Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”

And that was how we’d spent the last two hours, hopping from ride to ride, eating fair food, and having a good time. I insisted on paying for everything, because that’s how I was raised. What kind of man would I be if I had made her pay on our date? Not much of one, at least in my family’s eyes. Currently, Lily and I were just walking around the fairgrounds together, a stuffed bear in one of my arms, and her hand intertwined with mine in the other. It was a risky thing to do in a public place like this, but we’d done it anyway. We were allowed to have lives too, although they may not be as private as we’d like them to be, especially tonight, in this moment.

“Jack,” Lily said.  
“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you didn’t pick a fancy restaurant, at least not for our first date.”

“Why?”

“Because, they’re all great and everything, but they’re just okay in my eyes. I like the simplicity in things, and tonight is definitely one that I’ll remember for a long time.”

“I’m glad to know you’ve enjoyed it, then.”

“Oh I’ve more than enjoyed it. Thank you for tonight.”

I smiled as I checked my watch for the time. It was already nearing 10:30 pm. “It was nothing, love.” We continued to walk around for a while more, until we’d seen some familiar faces.

“Is that Marcus and Niomi?” Lily asked.

“Yeah...and it looks like Alfie and Zoe are with them, too,” I added on. As soon as we had spotted them, they had spotted us.

“Hi you two,” Alfie said when he’d reached us, his arm around Zoe’s waist. Lily hugged Marcus, Alfie, Niomi, and Zoe, while I gave high fives to my guys and hugs to Zoe and Niomi. “So what’re you two doing here?” Alfie asked, a knowing smile on his face. Lily looked at me, and I looked right back at her, as if asking for permission. She proceeded to give me a slight nod, and I turned back to Alfie.

“We’re on a date,” I answered. “Our first date, actually.”

Zoe took the opportunity to squeal. “Oh, I remember Alfie and I’s first date, it was absolutely wonderful.”

“Well, this is all I could ever ask for and more,” Lily said, wrapping her arms around herself. I took this to mean that she was cold, so I wrapped my arms around her, and kissed the top of her head.

“Mate, whatever you’re doing, I suggest you don’t stop,” Marcus threw in. “She may be your one good thing.”

“Oh stop it Marcus, don’t scare them! It’s only their first date!” Niomi said, hitting him. I decided to ignore him, and back out of the conversation. “Well, we should probably get going now, we’ve got a ways to drive back,” I said, politely excusing us from the conversation at hand.

“Okay, we’ll see you two tomorrow though, right?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah. We’ll see you then. Bye,” I said, and Lily and I left.

On our way back to Dan and Phil’s place, Lily brought up a question. “Zoe said something about meeting tomorrow? But Summer in the City begins Friday?”

“Tomorrow night, we’re all getting together at mine and Finn’s house and going to hang out. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come, but we were having so much fun that I’d forgotten. So, would you?”

“Of course, I’d love to!” She said excitedly. “Whenever Dan and Phil show up, that’s when I’ll be there,” she said with a real smile. And if it weren’t for the fact that I was driving, I would’ve kissed her right then and there.

 

**Lily's POV**

Dan, Phil, and I got out of the car, and walked up to Jack's door. I can't believe I'd been missing out on things like this the whole time. I rang the bell and waited, while chatting with the boys. In no time, Jack was at the door. "Hey guys," he greeted warmly, and gave me a hug. "I'm a little surprised you got here without getting lost. Everyone else's had to phone me or Finn."

"Oh. We used Uber."

"That works too. Come on in!" He said, stepping aside. We stepped inside, and Jack's hand moved to the small of my back. Dan led the way to the living room, where everyone else was waiting for us. I hugged everyone and walked over to the love seat where Jack was sitting.

"So are you two a couple now?" Tyler asked from across the room. I shook my head, and looked over at Jack. He looked at me, then turned to everyone in the room.

"We want to take it slow. We've agreed to go out on a few dates and test it out, and then...we'll see."

"And as great as YouTube is, it can also be pretty damaging to a new or potential relationship. So if it's not too much to ask, we'd like that when you're vloging later tonight or making a video in general, to try and cut us out of it or not put it in the video until we've decided to tell everyone, if it happens to go that far. I know editing is hard to do already, but-"

"We understand," Zoe said, cutting me off, though I didn't mind. "We asked the same of everyone else when Alfie and I started dating."

"Thank you," Jack breathed. "Now, who's ready to get this party started?"

Hours passed by, but it had only felt like minutes. We played different games, drank, had impromptu contests, and generally enjoyed each other’s company. We’d played Just Dance 2014, and I was the reigning champion, kicking everyone’s ass. As the party wound down, some were relaying the parts they hadn’t filmed to their camera, and gearing up to leave. Dan, Phil, and I stayed to help Jack and Finn clean up the mess. “Thank you for such an incredible party Jack. I had fun.” I said, picking up the last of the trash.

“Thank you for coming. It wouldn’t have been as much fun without you.”

I smirked, and checked to make sure that I had my phone with me, as I followed the boys to the door. I first gave Finn a hug, and then I gave Jack one of his own. I said goodnight to the twins, and followed Dan and Phil out to the car that was waiting to take us home.

Summer in the City flew by quickly, but yet it was another memorable YouTube weekend. I was met with an obscene amount of viewers asking about Jack, but I deflected the question, and gave my usual answer of “We just met,” and “We’re just friends.” Jack and I had gone on another date, this time with him showing me around his hometown of Chiswick, and as usual, I loved every second of it because I was with him. It’s now my fourth week here in London, and tonight Jack is coming over for dinner, our third date. I somehow convinced Dan and Phil to leave the apartment for a while so it could be just Jack and I. Just then, the buzzer rang. I buzzed Jack in, and let him into the apartment.

“Hey,” he greeted me with his dazzling smile.

“Hi,” I said back to him.

“What’re we going to do tonight?”

“Well, I thought we could make dinner and then walk around London,” I said. I had wracked my brain for date ideas, and this was, unfortunately, the best one I could come up with and that I was capable of doing in a country that is not my own. I just hoped he would be good with it.

“Sounds good to me. What’re we making?”

“Stir fry,” I said, and pulled him into the kitchen.

 

**Jack’s POV**

Lily pulled me into the kitchen, and we started making dinner together. Or we tried to, at least. We’d ended up playing around with the food, and never actually making dinner, but ordering a takeaway instead.

“Ready to go?” She asked, looking up at me wide eyes. I smiled down at her. “I’m ready,” I said. With that, we were off.

We wandered through the busy streets of London, taking in the nightlife and the atmosphere. It wasn’t until we had walked by a man badly singing a rendition of One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful, that I had remembered what happened the night she left. We walked and talked for a little while longer, until I decided to ask her about it.

“Lily?”

“Hm?”

“The night we went to the One Direction concert, something odd happened.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Well, when we went backstage to meet the guys, we were talking and everything, and then Harry asked about you. I was just wondering what that was about?” I asked, and Lily went pale and tensed up.

“I’d rather we not talk about him, if you don’t mind,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. We continued our walk through London, in and out of shops, and no more was said on the topic. All too soon we had reached Dan and Phil’s flat, and it was time to say goodnight.

“I had a great time tonight with you, Lily,” I said, giving her a hug.

“Me too,” she responded, distractedly. I kissed her goodnight, and watched her walk into the flat, then pulled off and drove back home.

****

It had been about a week and a half, and I hadn't heard from Lily at all. She hasn't been active online, either, with no new videos, despite her standing schedule. Relax, Jack. I told myself. She’s probably just really busy. I knew this could be true, because being a YouTuber requires a LOT of time and energy, and sometimes it’s easy to get lost in it. I was one to miss posting days and times too, sometimes going weeks without posting a new video. I dragged myself out of my thoughts, and tried to focus on the task at hand, which was editing a new video for JacksGap. I put my headphones on, and worked steadily for a while, until Finn interrupted me.

“Jack your phone has been ringing incessantly for the past ten minutes, for the love of God will you stop it?!” He said, eyes blazing. I hadn't even heard my phone ring at all, but I walked over to my bedside table to find 20 text messages waiting for me. 1 from mom, who was away on holiday with Emmy Lou and Dad, to inform me and Finn that they’ll be staying another week in America.  18 from a group message, and 1 from Lily. LILY! I opened the message from her, and read it thoroughly. 

**Lily: Jack, I am sorry for not getting in touch with you sooner. I enjoyed our last date, but was thrown by your mention of Harry, which is why it has taken me so long to respond. If you’re not busy, could we meet now? Lily x.**

I typed back a quick response, saved the video, told Finn I’d see him later, and walked to Starbucks to see Lily.

******  
**

**Lily’s POV**

The only way a relationship can work correctly is by honesty, right? Right. So before this goes any farther, I need to be completely and totally honest, with myself and with Jack, even if it means losing him in the process. And pretending like Harry HADN'T happened wasn't going to help any. Which brings me to where I am now, patiently waiting for Jack in Starbucks in the middle of London. He walks up to me, and we hug, and then I sit back down.

“How are you?” I ask.

“I’ve been better, and you?”

“Not well.”

“Why?”

Well...here goes nothing. “Last time we went out, you wanted to know why Harry had asked about me, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Well,” I began, and as I dived into it, I relived the flashback in my mind.

 

_***Flashback*** _

_It had been a long, long day and I was finally able to leave work and go home and relax. I stepped into my flat, and let out a long sigh. I put my things down, and set about making dinner for my boyfriend, Harry. He was coming home today, and I wanted things to be perfect when he did. I was thinking about the day we first met, when I heard a key turn in the lock. I ran to get our plates, but what I saw when I came back out into the lounge was far from what I had expected. It was my boyfriend, yes, but he wasn't alone. He was all over some girl. I stood there, frozen, as time seemed to slow down, and come to a grinding halt. I hadn't even noticed I had dropped the plates until I heard glass shatter. He looked up at me, and I back at him, and we stood there for what felt like an eternity. He pushed the female off of him, and took one step towards me, and I took one step back. “Lily,” he said in his adorable Cheshire British accent. “This isn't what it looks like,” he began. I didn't want to hear his explanation, it didn't matter. I turned and ran out of the flat, tears streaming down my face. Harry was calling my name but I didn't stop, I only ran faster. By the time I finally stopped, I had no idea where I was. Here I am, lost in a country I've been in for all of two seconds, without a phone or some money to get me back where I need to be, and that just made me cry harder. What was I thinking? “Lily?” A soft voice asked, cutting through my tears. “Lily is that you?” I turned around and came face to face with Liam, one of Harry’s band mates. “Are you okay? Where’s Harry?” He asked. His inquiries made me cry even harder, and he enveloped me in a hug. “It’ll be okay,” he murmured. “Just come with me. I live close by, and we’ll call Harry, okay?” “NO!” I roared. “Please, no. I don’t want to see him, not anymore.” I said. When we had reached Liam’s home, he sat with me and patiently listened to the whole thing. He offered his home for me to stay in until I could figure out what I was going to do. In a few days’ time, I decided it was best for me to go back home; not to Harry, but back home to America and start fresh. I had said my goodbyes to everyone, save Harry, and went to my flat one last time to pack my things and leave….for good. But when I opened the door, what I saw surprised me. Harry was there, just...sitting. Waiting. He looked at me with this look in his eyes, and I knew it couldn't have been good. “You told them,” he sneered at me. “Told who what?” I responded. “YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!” He shouted, slamming me against the wall. It was then that I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “I don’t know wha-” I began, but was cut off when his fist connected with my face. He hit me, over and over and over, and then, finally, he stopped. He had passed out. That was when I ran, and never looked back._

***Present Day***

I couldn’t even look at Jack. I had just told him my biggest, deepest, darkest secret, one that only few people knew. My parents didn’t even know. I just continued to stare down into my cup of hot chocolate, letting my tears flow free. I couldn’t fight it anymore.

“Well?” I said, looking up at Jack. He just looked back at me, an impassive expression on his face. “Jack...say something...please,” I pleaded. He just sat there in silence, staring at me. “Well then,” I said, and picked up my things. “I’ve had a great time here, with you, and everyone,” I picked up my phone off the table, and walked over to his side, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. He didn’t move at all. “But it’s time for me to go. I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Australia,” I stepped back to give him room to stand up, but again, he remained where he was. “Bye Jack,” I said, and left the coffee shop. I popped in my headphones, and put my iPhone on shuffle. Say Something by A Great Big World came on, and the tears came back. ‘How appropriate,’ I thought, as the tears flowed unrestrained down my face, and walked away.


	5. Adventures in Australia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get excited, because I'm back! WOW did I leave on a cliffie, eh? I've written a bunch more between now and then, and I've also become a year older! Yay for 16! I may or may not disappear again for an extended amount of time, but if I do, I WILL reappear again on May 13th (the twins' 21st birthday) for sure!!!!

**Jack’s POV**

I just sat there. I don’t know how long, but long enough for them to ask me to give up the table after a while. I stepped out into the dreary London summer day, walked over to Finn and I’s car, and sat there some more. My phone rang and rang and rang in my pocket multiple times, but I ignored it. After nightfall had come, I started the car and drove back home.

“Jesus Christ Jack! Where the hell have you been?” Finn asked me the next morning.

“Lily,” I mumbled, and turned over on my side. Finn walked over to my bed, sat down, and effectively woke me up.

“Yeah I know that,” Finn said, crossing his arms. “But that was yesterday afternoon. She came by later to tell me she was leaving. I asked her where you were, and she just started crying. Jack, what’s going on? What happened between you and her? What did you do?”

“It’s more like what I didn’t do,” I softly responded.

“What?”

I sighed. “When we were out the other night, I asked her why when we were at the concert, Harry had asked about her. She tensed up and I dropped the subject. Then today, she told me why.”

“Okay, well what did she tell you?”

I recounted the whole thing to Finn, and he sat there silently listening to every detail until I was done.

“So what did you do?”

“Huh?”

“After she told you all of this, what did you do?”

“I, uh, I didn’t do anything,”

“Okay well what did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything either. I just sat there, staring at her. And when she left I continued sitting there, staring at where she used to be.”

“We have to call Eliza,” Finn muttered, and picked up his phone. Just then, it rang. “Speak of the devil,” he said, answering it. “Eliza, hey, I was just about to call you, it’s a bit of an emergency.”

“Oh no! What’s happened, Finn?” She asked, panic in her voice.

“Calm down, Eliza, we’re all okay. Well, I am, I’m not sure about Jack here.”

“What’s happened with Jack?”

“I’m physically okay, Eliza,” I chimed in. “But I’m having a bit of a problem, and we need a girl’s perspective,” I explained.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Well,” I began. “Suppose you told a potential boyfriend a secret, one few people know, and he didn’t say anything back. At all. Like he just sat there. How would you feel?”

“Crushed. If I’m trusting you with such a huge thing, and you don’t say anything, I’d feel very hurt. Why?”

“Because Lily told me something about her last relationship, and it had her in tears.”

“Wait, Lily? The same Lily you’re always going off about?”

“Yeah, her.”

“Well? What’d you say?”

“He didn’t say anything,” Finn chimed in again. “Didn’t even move.”

“Oh my god Jackson,” Eliza cried.

“What?”

“She thinks you don’t care, Jack. She’s just told you a huge thing, trusting you with it, and you just sat there while she was crying.”

Finn and I looked at each other, looks of shock on both of our faces.

“What were her exact words?” Eliza asked.

“Say something, Jack,” I repeated from memory.

“You’ve got to find her and fix this, Jack. And she’s not going to wait forever.”

“Thanks, Eliza,” Finn quipped, taking her off of speakerphone, and putting the phone to his ear. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Bye Eliza,” he finished, and hung up.

“Australia,” I croaked, and sat up straight in bed.

“What?” Finn inquired, watching me jump up and hastily pull on whatever was lying on the floor.

“She’s going to Australia. She told me that yesterday.”

“Great! When does she leave?”

I glanced over at the clock and noted, with dismay, that it was well after 1pm. “She’s gone already,” I murmured. Finn left the room, and I grabbed a suitcase, and started packing everything I’d need and might need. Finn came back an hour later, a look of concern etched on his face.

“I talked to Zoe,” he began. “She said that Lily went with Troye, and might’ve gone to catch the end of VIDinc. I also checked, and now that One Direction’s tour is over, they’re coming home. Well, Harry got here about an hour and a half ago, which is probably why Lily took a morning flight out. And I suspect that it won’t be long until Harry knows where she is.” I continued packing up my equipment while listening to Finn. “Jack, look, I can’t let you do this by yourself. I’m coming with you.”

“Finn, no.”

“Yes Jack. You’re not the only one who cares about her, you know.”

I racked my brain, looking for every possible excuse to make him stay. “What about the viewers?” I quipped, softly.

“If anyone asks, we’ll just tell them we went on holiday.”

“We were just on holiday.”

“That was a work holiday. Look Jack, I’m going with you and there’s nothing you can say that’ll make me stay here.”

“Fine. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning at 8,” Finn answered, and left to get packing.

 

**Lily's POV**

I stepped off the plane into the airport at quarter to five the next day. I'd been in Australia for all of ten minutes, and was already sweating. Troye and I gathered our things and stood on line waiting for a cab.

"I thought you were going to Italy," Troye started. "Why'd you change your mind?"

"What, are you sick of me already?" I joked.

"No! I was just wondering why you decided to go with me at the last moment."

"Italy was too close to England. I've never been to Australia before either, so why not?"

"What do you mean it's too close? That makes for a shorter flight."

"It's not exactly helpful when you're trying to get away."

"Uh, okay," Troye said, not pressing me for more. Just then the cab arrived, and we loaded our things in the trunk. Troye gave him his address, and I drifted off into a nap.

 

About an hour later we were pulling into Troye's driveway. I stretched, and Troye and I split the fare. We got out and started unpacking our things, when I was pulled into a group hug by Troye's younger sister.

"You're home! And you brought your pretty friend Lily!" She exclaimed. I started laughing, and broke the hug to grab the remainder of my luggage out of the car.

"I am far from appropriate looking right now. After nearly 24 hours of travel, I am looking anything but pretty right now."

"Please! You're always pretty!"

"Lily, this is Sage," Troye said, motioning to his sister.

"I love your videos,” she gushed. Sage was a pretty girl, average height with tan skin, light brown hair and a pretty smile. She helped me with my bags, but left her brother to struggle with his on his own. It was pretty funny to watch, but just before he tipped over, we went to help him with his luggage.

 

Three hours later, after I had met Troye’s parents, his older brother Steele, his youngest brother Tyde, and settled in, Sage and I were still talking. She is a great conversationalist, and someone I feel like I can rely on. If only I had a younger sister like her.

 

“So why’d you come back with my brother? If you don’t mind me asking.”

I thought the question over, and decided that I could trust her enough with the truth. Or at least part of the truth, anyway. “I’m running away,” I sighed.

“Sorry?”

“Before I left, Jack and I were trying to figure out what exactly we wanted in our relationship, if we could even have one together at all. I decided that before we moved any further, I’d tell him something that he needed to know before we decided what we wanted to do.”

“So you went on like trial dates?”

“Yeah, I guess you could call it that.”

“What happened when you told him? And what did you tell him, or what did it have to deal with?”

“I told him something about my last relationship, which was two years ago. And after I had told him, he just sat there, and didn’t do anything.”

“Nothing?”

“Not a word. I gave him a hug and he didn’t move. So I said goodbye and left while he stared at where I used to be.”

“Wow. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I probably should’ve seen it coming anyway. I just didn’t want to dive into a relationship with him not knowing something pretty important and putting him at risk.”

“Was it that bad?”

“You have no idea.”

 

**Jack’s POV**

Finn and I woke up early the next day to get to Heathrow for our eight a.m. flight. While waiting for our plane, Finn called mum and dad to let them know that we’d be leaving the country for a holiday of our own.

“Jack, mum wants to talk to you,” Finn said, holding his phone out to me. I took it from him and walked towards the huge glass window in our waiting area.

“Hi mum,”

“Jack, Finn’s just said you two are going on holiday? Why didn’t you tell us before?”

“It was a last minute choice.”

“How last minute?”

I hesitated before answering my mother, knowing she would get angry. “Last night,” I finally muttered.

“JACKSON FRAYN HARRIES,” my mother began yelling. I pulled the phone away from my ear for a while and waited for her to calm down. After a few minutes, I put the phone back to my ear.

“Mum, Finn and I will be safe, don’t worry. We’ve done this before, you know.”

“I know. Where are you going? Ibiza? France? Italy? Thailand?”

“Actually...we’re going to Australia.”

“That’s so far, and such a long flight.

“I know, mum.”

“Well, just be safe dear. Now let me talk to Finny before I go to sleep,” she said, stifling a yawn. I had forgotten about the eight hour time difference between here and California, and it was only seven a.m. over here, which means that it’s eleven p.m. for her. I handed the phone back to my brother, and decided to scroll through my Twitter feed.

 

**Lily’s POV**

I opened my eyes to see two blurry figures standing over me. “What time is it?” I asked, yawning. I rubbed my stinging eyes, and realized I had fallen asleep with my contacts in.

“It’s six p.m.” Troye said. I stumbled blindly into the en-suite to remove my horrendously dry contacts and put on my glasses. Once I could see again, I noticed that I had fallen asleep in my clothes.

“Wait, did you say six?”

“Yeah,” Sage chimed in.

“As in, ‘I’ve slept through the whole day’ six?”

“The very same,” Troye said. “But I don’t blame you. Jet lag alone is hard enough. But combine that with an 11 hour time difference, and you’ll be out for a while. I’ve only just woken up about two hours ago myself. I would’ve let you sleep longer, but Sage really wants the three of us to go out tonight.”

“Out where?” I asked.

“Well, since I’m only 16, our options are pretty limited when it comes to Sydney’s nightlife,” Sage explained. “But then I thought, hey, when’s the last time any of us hung out at the mall?”

“Well...it’s been a while,” I admitted. The last time I could remember hanging out at the mall with friends was about four years ago, when I was Sage’s age and had first decided to start a YouTube channel.

“Then it’s set. We’ll leave at 7:30,” Sage declared, and sashayed out of the room. Troye followed, and closed the door behind him. I had just enough time to shower and make myself look presentable, so that’s what I set out to do.

 

An hour and fifteen minutes later, I was ready. I had thrown on my blue and white striped dress with a brown belt, my brown sandals, grabbed my brown Alexander McQueen cross body bag that my mother had given me, threw my hair into a high bun, and put on a touch of liquid lipstick. (see outfit here) I walked out of the guest room into the living room to find Sage, Troye, Steele, and Tyde sitting there, waiting for me.

“What’s this?”

“Steele and Tyde heard we were going out tonight and decided that they were coming, too,” Sage pouted.

"So are you ready?" Steele asked, standing up and twirling his keys in his hand.

"Shotgun!" Sage screamed, and ran towards the car. I just laughed, and followed Troye out to Steele’s car. We all piled into Steele’s blue Audi Q7, with Steele driving, Sage in the passenger seat, and Troye, Tyde, and I crammed in the backseat. Tyde was the unlucky one who sat in the middle. The ride to the mall was half an hour, but felt like five minutes with them. ‘The last time I was this happy was when I was with Jack.’ I thought, and it instantly sobered me up. I began to think about the last time I saw him in the coffee shop two days ago. I idly wondered what he was doing, until Tyde broke my depressing train of thought.

“Lily? We’re here,” he said, bringing me back to the present. I noticed that everyone had gotten out of the car except for us two. I climbed out and held the door open for him to get out after me. I closed the door and we followed the others, who were a few paces in front of us.

“You look nice,” Tyde complimented me out of nowhere.

“Why thank you,” I answered.

“Can we do a video together sometime?”

“Sure. Just knock on my door whenever you’re ready, and we’ll record, okay?” I said. By this time we had caught up with Troye, Steele, and Sage, who were waiting by the entrance for us.

“So what do you want to do? Eat? See a movie? Shop?” Steele asked Tyde and I. I was just about to answer, until my stomach spoke up for me.

“I guess we’re eating first, then,” Troye said laughing. The five of us walked inside and towards the food court. Once we reached the food court, we decided on McDonalds, and went to place our order. After receiving our food, we sat down and started to dig in. I was eating absentmindedly, and it wasn’t until Troye tapped me that I noticed they were all looking at me.

“What?”

“You’ve got this look on your face, and it’s a little, well, strange,” Sage said.

“Do I?” I asked.

“Yeah. What’re you thinking about?” Tyde asked.

“The food tastes different here than it does back home,” I noted.

“How so?” Steele asked, taking a bite of his burger.

“I can’t explain it, it just has a bit of a different taste,” I tried.

“She’s right,” Troye chimed in. “Not all McDonalds tastes the same.” Sage, Tyde and Steele just looked at each other and shrugged, while I continued to eat my food. When we were all finished, we were once again trying to decide what to do.

“I want to go shopping with Lily,” Sage demanded, and pulled me to her side.

“Well I want to go see a movie with Lily,” Steele and Tyde said together, pulling me towards them.

“I’m indifferent,” Troye shrugged.

“Shopping!” Sage screamed, and pulled me back towards her.

“Movie!” Tyde screamed, as Steele pulled me back to their side.

“Shopping!”

“Movie!”

“Shopping!”

“Movie!”

“Shopping!”

“Movie!”

“ENOUGH!!” I roared. Both parties ceased immediately, and dropped their grip on me. I was so dizzy I went crashing into Troye.

“Why can’t you guys let her decide? She’s my guest, and it’s her first time in our country. I’m sure she’s got an itinerary of her own.”

I sat down until I stopped feeling dizzy, and then stood up to address the four of them. “Tonight, we’ll go shopping,” I began, and Sage squealed as the boys groaned. “But tomorrow night,” I said, continuing on. “We can go to the movies. Deal?”

“Deal,” Tyde and Steele agreed. 

Three hours had passed, and in that time, we had taken pictures with a few viewers, and Sage and I had been to at least two dozen stores, and bought something from every single one. The boys held our bags, and patiently chased after us, while we went from store to store to store. I hadn’t been out like this in such a long, LONG time, and it felt absolutely wonderful. The ride back to their house was pretty uneventful, and the moment my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

 

**Jack’s POV**

Exhaustion hit me like a freight train as I stepped off the plane into the cool air of the terminal. I wobbled for a moment, but Finn was right behind me and was there to steady me.

“You alright there mate?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”

“Well maybe you shouldn’t have stayed awake for the whole flight.”

I nodded my head in response as Finn and I went to retrieve our things. He had a point, but worry had been consuming me the entire plane ride out here. What if she had done something extreme in between the time she told me, and the time it would take me to find her? I tried to expel these worried from my mind, as we waited for a cab outside with our things. I pulled out my phone to browse my social networks, when something caught my eye. I had Twitter notifications on for Lily, as well as a few other people, and the notifications came flooding in. Lily hadn’t tweeted in days, but she retweeted a photo. I unlocked my phone to see the tweet entirely. It was a picture of Lily, Troye, his brothers Tyde and Steele, his sister Sage, and a fan. “Finn,” I croaked. I cleared my throat, and called him again.

“Yes Jack?” He asked, turning around to face me. I held up my phone so he could see the screen.

“I found her,”

“Wow, that was quick. When was that taken?”

I looked back at the screen to see what time it had been posted. “Last night,” I muttered. “While we were on the plane.”

Finn patted me on the shoulder while I looked down glumly at the pavement. ‘One step forward, two steps back’ I thought to myself. “Don’t worry buddy,” Finn said reassuringly, “we’ll find her.”

 

Two hours later, Finn and I were settled in our hotel room, belongings strewn about. Upon our arrival, we had both showered and dressed in fresh clothes, I had laid down to take a nap, and Finn was working at the desk, picking up where I had left off in editing our JacksGap video. It was around 7:30 when Finn had woken me up out of my much needed sleep. "Go away," I mumbled, and blindly searched my bed for something to throw at him. My hand landed on a small pillow, and I launched it in the direction of his voice, not bothering to open my eyes.

"Dude, check your phone," he said, not letting me go back to sleep.

"Whatever it is, it can wait until I'm fully recharged."

"Okay, but when you wake up and find out that you missed your opportunity to talk to Lily because you wanted to sleep, it won't be my fault," he snapped. At the mention of Lily, I shot up off the bed and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. I unlocked my phone and checked her most recent tweet. It was a photo of her and a fan. The tweet read "great to meet you today hun! sorry your phone died :( Enjoy your movie :D @astridisaflower"

I pulled on my shoes, stuffed my phone in my shorts pocket, and ran out the room. Finn followed along after me, and stopped to ask the guy at the concierge desk about the mall. By the time Finn had gotten the information we needed, I was sitting in the cab waiting for him. He got in, and we were off.


	6. What I've Been Looking For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY TO JACK & FINN!!!! Love the babes. And in honor of this 21st birthday of theirs, I am updating :D Woo! Hope you like!

**Lily's POV**

The boys had taken me to see the latest action flick that had come out. I wasn’t really paying attention to it, but I didn’t disregard the whole thing altogether. It was pretty late, nearing 10pm when the movie was finally over. I gathered my things, and followed the boys out to the lobby. While we were about to exit the movie theaters into the rest of the mall, I heard someone calling my name. It sounded like it was Jack, but I convinced myself otherwise, and braced myself for another viewer and another picture. But when I looked up, I saw that my first assumption was right. There, running toward me in tan shorts and a dark blue shirt with white stripes was the boy I had left in the coffee shop only a few days ago. Behind him was his twin brother, who was struggling to keep up.

“Is that Jack?” Troye asked, turning to me.

“And Finn,” I confirmed. Jack kept running towards me, the crowd parting with every call of my name. It wasn’t long until he was only a mere few feet in front of me. “Jack?” I breathed confusedly. It wasn’t like I wasn’t elated beyond any words to see him, but I was sure I had ruined things forever the last time I had seen him.

“Lily,” he said, out of breath. “I know I’ve hurt you, and I know that you’ve taken more than enough of that for a lifetime. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything when you told me what you did. I’m sorry that I just sat there and didn’t move. I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you. But I care about you way too much to just let you walk away. I won’t let what might be our only chance just escape. The moment you told me, I was in shock as to how anyone could have gone through what you did. I couldn’t comprehend the fact that someone would want to inflict that kind of pain on someone as beautiful and extraordinary as yourself. I want to be there for you, to protect you from him. And I don’t care if this gets out, I couldn’t care less about the viewers right now. Finn and I have flown here because I want you to be my girlfriend. I know we can do this. Please.” I stayed standing where I was. This beautiful boy had traveled over 24 hours to come and see me. To say these things. To say that i was in shock would’ve been a massive understatement. And for a moment, I forgot about Troye and Steele and Tyde and a panting Finn and all the cameras that were out and the people who had stopped to watch the scene that was created. I forgot about all those things, and ran into Jack’s arms, and whispered “Okay.”

An hour later, the six of us were back at Troye’s house, sitting around.

“You two are the number one trending topic on Twitter in Australia and New Zealand right now,” Finn promptly informed us, looking up from where he was perched at my computer.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they make the worldwide trending topic list when everyone else finds out,” Troye commented, smirking.

“I’m getting mentions left and right asking about you two,” Finn noted.

“Oh god. I’d hate to see my mentions, then,” I murmured in disdain. So much for keeping a low profile.

“I’m sorry Lily,” Jack apologized for what had to be the tenth time today.

“It’s okay,” I responded, because it was. We’d just have to answer some questions a little sooner than we’d hoped to. Just then my phone rang, and I looked over to see who it was. I didn’t know the number, but I picked up anyway.

“Hello?”

“Hi Lily! It’s Liam!”

“Liam?”

“The one and only.”

“Hi Liam, it’s been so long! How are you?”

“I’m good I guess, how are you?”

“At the moment, I’m fantastic. Wait, how did you get my number?”

“I asked your parents.”

“Huh. I didn’t think a superstar like you would keep me in mind or keep my parent’s number,” I joked.

“Well, you never know when it’ll come in handy. Listen, I saw that video of you and that guy, and I am so happy for you.”

“What video?”

“The one of that guy asking you to be his girlfriend in the mall,” Liam answered. I pulled the phone away from my ear, got up off the couch to walk over to Finn and ask him to find the video Liam was talking about. I put the phone back to my ear, and walked into the room I was staying in to resume talking to Liam.

“Oh. That video!”

“Yeah, when did that happen?”

“Today, actually. Hey, how did you find it?”

“I googled you, and it came up.”

“You googled me? Is that a thing you do on a regular basis?”

A beat of silence passed, and Liam answered my question. “Yeah, I do. And I watch your videos, too.”

“Aw, thanks Liam.”

“Listen, I want to meet up, so we can catch up. I also want to meet this guy of yours, make sure he’s right for you.”

“He’s good, I swear,” I said quietly into the phone. “He’s not like him.”

“I won’t hurt him, I just want to meet him.”

“Okay,” I conceded.

“This is your mobile number, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Text me so we can set up a date to meet up at some point.”

“But I don’t have your number.”

“This number that I’m calling you on is mine.”

“Okay. I’ll text you later, Liam. It was so good to hear from you.”

“You too. Bye.”

“Bye,” I said, and hung up. I walked back out to the living room where everyone was still gathered. “Did you find it?” I asked Finn, walking over towards him.

“Not yet,” he grunted. I came around to the computer, opened up YouTube, and typed my own name. I scrolled past my channel and my videos and the collaboration videos that I had done with friends, and finally found the video I was looking for. Finn called Jack over, and the three of us sat together and watched the video. The quality wasn’t too bad, and the recorder actually had a steady hand. It ended with Jack and I’s hug. Just then, Sage walked through the door.

“Lily, you and Jack are trending worldwide,” she said, looking down at her phone. “Did you know that?” She asked, and looked up from her phone, noticing the twins on either side of me. “Oh!”

I turned my computer towards her, and played the video. “That’s why.”

“Well, that explains all the tweets,” she murmured. I looked down at my phone, which was buzzing once more with text messages, and took notice of the time.

“Jack, it’s nearly twelve!”

“Is it?” He asked, and looked down at his phone, which, similarly to mine, was buzzing as well. “Wow. Would you look at that Finn. Guess we’d better go now,” he yawned, and stood up.

“I’ll drive you,” Steele offered, and the twins accepted. I gave them both hugs, and kissed Jack.

“See you tomorrow?” He asked, light dancing in his eyes. I shook my head at him.

“No. You just got here today, and you’ve got to be really tired. As much as I want to see you and spend the day with you, you still need your rest, and I’ve got some work to do. We can spend Friday together, okay?”

“Okay,” he acquiesced, and kissed me goodnight. I followed the boys to the door, and watched them pull off. I turned and headed for my room, and flopped right on the bed, not even bothering to change my clothes.

The next morning I woke up at 11 am, showered and washed my hair, [braided it and put it in a bun, put on my glasses, my earrings, my arrow ring, camera necklace, bracelet, and threw on something I had bought while at the mall with Sage and the guys the other night](http://www.polyvore.com/lily_filming_with_tyde/set?id=116685152). I noted with dismay that I would have to go home soon if I wanted to stop spending money on new clothes that I didn’t really need. I walked out of my room, and almost ran right into Tyde.

“Oh! Hey Lily! I was just coming to look for you! Do you want to film our video now?”

“Yeah sure! Just let me get some water,” I beamed, and headed towards their kitchen. I grabbed a bottle, and headed back out to find Tyde.

“Where do you usually film?” I asked, taking a swig of my water.

“I usually film in here,” he said, motioning around his room. “But we can film somewhere else if you’d like,” he offered.

“How about outside, on your back porch? It’s such a nice day out, and I think the lighting is just perfect.”

“Okay, let me just go get Troye and let him know,” Tyde agreed, and ran off to find Troye. I walked towards the back door, and opened it to go out on to the porch. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, and to my relief, saw that it was Jack who was calling me.

“Hey,”

“Good morning,” he said, sleep still evident in his voice.

“How are you?”

“Better now that I’ve gotten some sleep and because finding you wasn’t a dream.” I blushed at his comment, but decided to tell him that I needed to go back home.

“You’re so sweet. Listen, Jack, I have to go back home.”

“What? Why?” He asked, all traces of sleep now gone.

“Relax, nothing bad has happened. I just need to take my clothes and things home. I’m paying rent and I’m barely even at the place.”

“I’m coming with you.” He declared.

“That’s not necessary.”

“Lily, I lost you before, I’m not going to lose you again.”

“What about Finn?"

"What about him?"

"You can’t just abandon him like that,” I threw in. Just then, Troye and Tyde came out on to the porch, filming equipment in hand. “Look, we’ll talk about this later, I’ve got a video to film.”

“Okay,” Jack conceded, and dropped the subject for now. “I’ll talk to you later, then?”

“Yes. Have a good day with your brother, and tell him I say hello.”

“Bye Lily.”

“Bye Jack,” I said, and hung up. I stuffed my phone in my pocket and helped the boys set up for the video.

“So what is the video going to be about?” I asked Tyde as Troye was fiddling with the camera.

“I was hoping that I could interview you, like Caspar Lee, but not as embarrassing.”

“Oh God. Okay,” I laughed, remembering the grueling interview Caspar took me through, which featured baby pictures of me and my first YouTube video.

“Here are my list of questions,” Tyde said, handing me his iPad Mini. I looked over the questions, and they seemed alright to me, so I handed Tyde back his iPad. “How long are you staying?” Tyde asked.

“I’m going home soon. Sometime this week. I haven’t been home in a while so I’m pretty excited about that I guess.”

“Do you want to do a video for your channel?”

“I do, but I don’t have any ideas. So how about the next time I’m out here, or you come stateside, or wherever we happen to meet up, we can do two videos to make up for this missing one. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Just then, Troye gave us a thumbs up to let us know that we could start. Tyde and I turned toward the camera, and started a countdown.

“Three, two one; hey guys, it’s Tyde Levi, and today I have with me a pretty special guest!”

At that, I put on my best smile, and waved to the camera. “Hello there!”

“Today I get to have the privilege of interviewing this lovely lady, who is in fact Lily from LilyRose. Shall we get started?”

“Sure.”

“Okay Lily, I’m going to start out with some easy questions, no big deal.”

“Okay.”

“What is your full name, how old are you, and where are you from?”

“My full name is Lily Rose Campbell, I’m 20 years old, and I’m from America.”

“Which state?”

“Well I’m originally from Vero Beach, which is in Florida, but I moved to New York when I was about ten years old. Now I live in Georgia.”

“Why did you move to Georgia?”

“I don’t really know. I do know, however, that I didn’t want to stay and endure the biting northeast winters all my life.”

“Now, I know that you’re only 20, but did you go to college?”

“I did, actually. I went for two years at Full Sail University, so I have an Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design that I finished earlier this year.”

“Do you have any plans to return to college?”

“At the moment, I’m considering it.”

“When is your birthday?”

“May 28, 1993.”

“Favorite color, food, activity?”

“My favorite color is blue, I don’t have a favorite food, but my favorite activity would be watching a good movie.”

“What is a good movie in your opinion?”

“Well, it’s always different with me. Each film is a work of art in itself, so to compare them all to the same scale is ridiculous to me. I like The Breakfast Club, because even though it was made in the eighties, it’s one of those movies that I feel like someone will always be able to relate to, no matter how much the times change. But I also like Pitch Perfect, because it takes something that’s in style now, throws in great music and an almost predictable storyline, and it’s a hit, with me anyway. And of course, there’s the beautiful yet heartbreaking love story in The Notebook, but yet one that will travel through ages that never fails to make me, or any of my friends cry no matter how many times we’ve seen it. It’s a movie that you can watch over and over again, and even though you know what’s coming in the end, it still makes you just as emotional as the first time you saw it. So to answer your question, any movie can be a good movie, it all depends what the criteria is to make it a good movie to the person who’s watching it. Does that make sense?”

“Completely. So you’re out here in Australia, for the first time, what made you come down under?”

At this question, I froze. I knew it was coming, but I was still struck by it. Do I tell the truth? Do I make up something? Do I want to tell the internet the real reason? No. I don’t. So I went with a simple half truth. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth, either. “I’ve never been here before. And seeing as I’ve travelled so much this year, I decided to tack on Australia before I head back home.”

“I hope you’re liking my country.”

“I’m loving your country. What I’m not loving, though, is all these time differences. Down here it’s so extreme compared to what I’m used to, but hopefully the next time I come back here, it won’t be as bad.”

“So, Lily, here’s the million dollar question."

“Okay, give it to me.”

“Are you single?”

“No,” I chuckled. “I am in a relationship, for the first time in my YouTube career/history.”

“Well, it was a pleasure having you. Thank you for doing this with me.”

“You are most certainly welcome,” I laughed.

“If you haven’t already, go subscribe to this pretty girl! She’s one of my favorite people, on the internet, and in real life.”

“Aw, thank you!”

“I will be back next week with a new video, but for now, bye everyone!” He said in closing, and waved goodbye to the camera. I did the same, and Troye gave us the signal to let us know that he had stopped recording. Tyde hopped up, and instantly popped open the SD card slot of the camera, took it out, and disappeared inside the house, presumably to begin the editing process. What an eager child. Troye walked over to me, and sat down in the deck chair that Tyde had abandoned.

“Lily, can I ask you something?”

“Sure Troye, anything.”

“Why did you really come here with me?”

**Jack’s POV**

I stared at my phone all through brunch with Finn. I was anxious to hear Lily’s voice again, to know that yesterday hadn’t been a dream, to know that she was really mine.

“Jack!” Finn said, breaking my thoughts. I looked up from my phone, to see the concern in his eyes. “You’ve found her, mate. It’s real. Now could you please eat?”

I stared down at my food, which I had just noticed was there. “Finn,” I said, taking a small bite of my food.

“Yeah?”

“We’re leaving soon.”

“Leaving what? Australia?”

“Yeah.”

“But we just got here.”

“Lily wants to go home.”

“What, our house?”

“No. Hers.”

“I don’t see why I have to come.”

“That’s what I said. But she insisted that we couldn’t just abandon you here. She said that if you weren’t going, I can’t go.”

“Wow Jack. You must have it really bad if-”

“Finn I don’t want to lose her again,” I said, tears starting to form in my eyes. “And if I have to drag you with me to avoid losing her again, that’s what I’ll do.”

“Okay. I’ll go.”

“Thank you.”

“But if you two third wheel me 24/7, I’m leaving.”

"Oh come on Finny, it's not like you haven't third wheeled me before."

"True. But I'm serious Jack."

“Okay, fine” I laughed. “So what do you want to do with the rest of our day?” I asked him, taking a bite of my food.

“What, you’re not going to hang out with your girlfriend?”

“No. You’re my brother, and I need my time with you too, you know,” I flattered him.

"She made you, didn't she?"

"She didn't make me."

“Thanks Jack, I feel honored,” he snorted.

“But seriously, what do you want to do,” I continued, finishing off my food.

“Well, we could take pictures and film some things for the website, and then go out to a club tonight.”

“Sounds good,” I approved, and threw some money on the table. Finn and I gathered our bearings and our belongings, and left the little cafe to walk back to the hotel.

After spending the day out and about, hitting up all the local tourist spots and taking pictures and capturing footage, we headed back to our hotel to clean up, grab a bite, and get ready for our next activity. Finn and I walked into the busy nightclub, lights flashing and the party atmosphere evident. I lost him in the crowd, but I assumed that he had gone straight for the dance floor. I, however, made a beeline for the bar. It was crowded, but less so compared to the dance floor. I ordered a drink, and made a mental note to not get too hammered, because I had to meet Lily tomorrow at 12. I sat there listening to the pounding music for an unknown amount of time, sipping my drink and taking in the atmosphere. Once I’d reached the bottom of the glass, I joined the compacted bodies on the dance floor, and started moving to the rhythm of the catchy song.

I woke up the next morning with a hazy feeling over my brain, and the sounds of hushed speaking by the window. I made an effort to movie as little as possible, so as to not disrupt the conversation. I silently grabbed my phone from the bedside table, and checked the time. I was shocked to see that it was already half past two. I typed out a quick message to Lily, and while waiting for it to go through, listened in on Finn's conversation.

"So why do you want to go home?"

"Because I haven't been home in a while. You already know why I hop from country to country, but I think it's safe to go back home now. You two don't have to come with me, but Jack is set on not letting me leave.”

“He doesn’t want to risk losing you again.”

“And I know that. But as much as I’d like to stay with him, in the same country at least, I need to go home. And it would look weird if we just moved in together. Not to all our friends, but to our viewers. How are we to explain the change of scenery? I don’t even know how to explain the video.”

“Lily, calm down. You just need to take one step at a time.”

“I know Finn, but I don’t know how to keep Jack and our YouTube careers and also keep us out of the looming shadow of my ex.”

“Jack can keep you safe. And if he doesn’t, then that’s not my brother.”

“It’s not my safety I’m worried about.” Just as I was getting into the conversation, Lily’s phone went off. I looked down at my own and noticed that the message had gone through. ‘Great timing,’ I thought, and rolled my eyes.

“Jack?” Lily asked. I took my cue, and rolled over to face my girlfriend and my twin brother.

“Good morning sleepyhead.”

“Actually it’s more like afternoon,” Finn corrected her.

“How long have you been here?” I asked her.

“Well,” she began, looking down at her phone for the time. “About two hours, actually.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Because you need your sleep, and I already woke Finn up.”

“Huh…” I said, and sat up. I rubbed the residual sleep out of my eyes. “I’m going to go take a shower and get ready.”

“Okay,” Lily and Finn said simultaneously. I grabbed my clothes for the day, and walked into the bathroom.

**Lily’s POV**

“So how long are you going to stay there?” Finn asked, continuing our previous conversation from before Jack had woken up.

“For a while. I know Jack wants me to stay with him, but I just can’t…not right now anyway. We’ve just started dating.”

“What if he insists on staying with you?”

“No. You two have your own channel to run and your own things to do, and I can’t have him drop all of that for me. We’ll make it work somehow. I mean, we’re only five hours apart, time zone wise.”

“Until you move.”

“I’m still not sure about that. Please don’t tell Jack. He’ll overreact.”

“He just wants to keep you safe Lily. He cares about you, you know.”

“I know. But I need to make myself available to different opportunities. I think I’ve exhausted all the ones in Georgia. And I’m not trying to live with the Northeastern winters again.”

“If he finds out, he's going to want you to move to London.”

“I can’t. It’s too risky and he knows that. Or I’m at least hoping that he does.”

“Lily, don’t underestimate my brother. Or me. We’ll keep you safe. And I’m sure that if the others knew, they’d want to help keep you safe too.”

“Troye knows.”

“Are you ready to tell the others?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Okay.”

Just then, Jack walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed and prepared for the day. “So what’s up?”

“Well, first we need to decide if you two are coming with me, or going back home.”

“We’re going with you,” Jack blurted.

“Finn?” I asked.

“Yeah Lily. We’re coming with you.”

“Alright then.”

“When do you want to leave?” Jack asked me.

“As soon as possible. As much as I’d like to, I can’t stay here that much longer,” I answered him. Finn jumped on the computer and looked up flights.

“There’s one tonight, one tomorrow, and one two days from now,” he recited from his spot in front of his computer. “Which one?”

“Two days from now,” I responded. As much as I wanted to leave tonight, I had to pack, say my goodbyes, and I wanted to have at least one last day with Troye and his family.


	7. Home Sweet Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually have no excuse for being on hiatus for so long. The summer was a stressful time with work and college trips galore and there wasn't hardly any time to write and update, much less any creative energy. Nonetheless, I hope you all had a fantastic summer and that you're doing well this holiday season. I hope you'll forgive me for being gone so long, and that you enjoy this chapter. Also, it feels kinda weird to be writing this when Jack has his fantastic girlfriend Ella, but it feels only right to finish what I started. Oops.

Two days later, Finn, Jack and I were boarding our flight back home- one that we nearly missed. Jack found our seats, and put our carry-ons in the overhead storage compartment. I sat down by the window, Jack in the middle, and Finn in the aisle. The three of us worked on our computers until we had to put them away for takeoff. I leaned my head on Jack’s shoulder, and he moved the armrest that was between us so that he could snake his arm around my waist and draw me closer to him.

“I don’t want to third wheel Finn,” I mumbled.

“Finn isn’t even paying attention love,” Jack answered. I looked over, and saw that Finn was engrossed in reading something on his phone. “See? He’s been like that for the past five minutes. Just relax. Besides, it’s not like he’s never third wheeled me before.”

“Well, yeah, but,”

“But nothing. We’re allowed to enjoy ourselves around friends and family. We just need to be careful with the viewers. Even though some of them already know already, that’s where we need to exercise caution. Okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed, and settled in for our 19 hour flight back home.

Five hours later, I woke up next to an empty seat and a pair of green eyes staring at me. “Jack just went to the bathroom,” he said as an answer to the confused look that was probably on my face.

“Oh,” I murmured. “How far are we?” I asked, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands to dispel the sleepy feeling.

“A little more than a fourth of the way. You look like a child when you do that,” he laughed a little.

“Shut up Finn,” I said sleepily.

“It’s cute.”

“Yeah, okay,” I brushed off his comment.

“Listen, I know we’ve been over our itinerary for you going home and us coming with you, but I’m just confused on one thing.”

“Which is?”

“Where am I going to stay? I mean, assuming Jack is staying with you, where will I stay?”

“With me, of course.”

“With you?”

“Yes. How could I let you stay anywhere else?”

“I don’t know.”

“Southern hospitality, Finn. Besides, I’m going to need you two around.”

“Don’t you have a one bedroom apartment?”

“Not exactly,” I began. Right as I was about to continue, Jack came back.

“You’re awake!” He said excitedly.

“It would appear so,” I said back. He stepped over Finn to take his seat. The three of us played cards until Finn fell asleep, and I had Jack all to myself. I laid on his shoulder for a while, our hands intertwined, him playing with mine.

“So Lily, I’ve been thinking,” Jack began.

“Hmmmm?” I noted.

“We have to address them and us soon. I was hoping it’d die down, but it only seems to have become worse.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. I was so caught up with Jack that I had forgotten about the viewers. The rest of the world didn’t really matter when I was with him.“Zoe and Alfie addressed theirs in a blog post on her blog,” I said, recalling the conversation I had had with her the day before. “I think that we shouldn’t have to make a huge deal out of it, because the video’s already out there and has been downloaded and most likely GIFed God knows how many times. Maybe we don’t have to make a video addressing it, maybe we could make a tumblr post, similarly to Zoe and Alfie. Or maybe we could do a semi-secret YouNow, and say it that way.”

“What if we posted a short video, not through YouTube or our channels, on to Tumblr and just left it there. It’s something we could do now, and have it be short and sweet, along with the secret YouNow. That way, any questions could be answered, and we’ll have a direct, indirect approach with it.”

“That’s contradictory, Jack.”

“What I mean is, we’ll be able to say it and put it out there and just leave it at that. Then, if anyone has any pressing comments or questions and they just happen to catch the show, they can ask.”

“I’m scared.”

“I am too,” Jack admitted, and lifted my chin so I could look at him. “But as long as I have you, I’ll be fine,” he said, and kissed me.

The rest of the flight passed pretty quickly, despite the amount of hours we were on the plane for. The three of us drifted in and out of sleep, sometimes all at the same time, and sometimes one by one. Finally though, we got off the plane and into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where we had to split up. “I forgot about this part,” I murmured, disdainfully. I looked at how short my line was compared to the one Jack and Finn had to go through. “I’ll meet you guys at baggage claim,” I said, and began to walk to the line for U.S. Citizens.

“Where are you going?” Jack asked. Finn and I looked at him like he had grown an extra head.

“Mate, are you dense?” Finn asked.

“What? No…”

“Jack, you act like you’ve never been through customs before. There’s a line for citizens and non-citizens. I’m a U.S. Citizen.”

“Oh yeah…”

“Okay so I’ll meet you at baggage claim, yes?” I asked again, speaking to Finn this time.

“Yeah. We’ll see you in, ah, half an hour if we’re lucky,” Finn said, looking over at the line.

“Welcome to America,” I said sarcastically, and left Finn with a tired and confused Jack. I went through customs in no time, and grabbed our suitcases. I dragged them over to the window, and sat down on top of mine. Almost an hour later, the boys came through searching for me. I hauled myself and my bag up off the floor, and waved to them. Finn saw me first, and pointed me out to Jack. “What happened to half an hour?” I joked once they got nearer.

“There was a bit of a situation,” Finn said.

“Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, it’s all good. We’re fine,” Jack spoke up, and reached for my suitcase.

“Oh no you’re not, I’m taking it,” I said, reaching to take it back.

“No, let me do this for you,” he said, putting it out of my reach.

“No Jack, it’s mine, so it’s my responsibility.”

“Lily, just let him do this for you,” Finn threw in.

“Gah! Fine. Fine Jack,” I gave in, hauled my backpack securely over my shoulder to make sure he didn’t take that too, and walked off towards the exit. Once outside in the late summer day heat, I pulled my phone out and turned it on. I noticed I had a message from my brother from a few hours ago, and opened it.

_**Andrew:** Darren will be there to pick you guys up_

I texted him back right away.

_**Lily:** Andrew you don’t need to send your friends to get me, I can get home just fine by myself_

_**Andrew:** Too late,  & Darren doesn’t mind. I’ll be down there in two days to meet this guy_

_**Lily:** His name is Jack_

_**Andrew:** Darren should be there now. Call me when you’re home_

_**Lily:** So rude_

_**Andrew:** Call me when you get home, please_

_**Lily:** That’s better_

I looked up, and sure enough Darren was there, leaning on the hood of his Range Rover Evoque.

“Hey Lil,”

“Hey. I hope Andrew hasn’t bothered you with this, I keep telling him I can get by on my own.”

“It’s no bother. You know he’s just looking out for you. If I had a baby sister and that had happened to her, I’d do everything I can to protect her too. Who’s your friends?”

I stepped back and Jack put his arm around me. “This is Finn,” I said, and they shook hands. “And this is Jack, my boyfriend.” Jack stepped forward and shook Darren’s hand just like Finn had done, but Darren looked him up and down. He looked at me and lifted his eyebrow, and I mouthed ‘He’s good’ back at him. He shook his head and walked around to the back of his car and opened the trunk. The boys hoisted the bags in the trunk, and I crawled into the backseat. Finn took shotgun, and Jack sat with me in the back, putting his arm around me. I laid my head on his shoulder, and he pulled me closer to him, wrapping me in his warm embrace.

Nearly an hour later, Darren pulled up to the gate of The London, put in the key code, and waited for it to open.

“Gated?” Finn asked

“Another precaution,” I answered.

“Interesting name,” Jack chuckled. We pulled up in front of my building, and Jack got out of the car to open my door. Darren got out and grabbed our suitcases from the back. We met in the rear of the car to get our things. Finn grabbed his suitcase, and one of my bags; Jack did the same.

“Thanks Darren,” I said, giving him a hug.

“It was nothing. Come by when you can, okay?”

“Will do,” I said. He got back in the car and drove away. Jack and Finn stood there waiting for me, and I led them towards my apartment, grabbing my other bags along the way. I opened the door, and dropped my bags in the living room, instructing the boys to do the same.

“Would you like a tour?”

“Sure,” Jack responded.

“Then you might want to bring your things,” I said, and attempted to help the guys with their luggage, to no avail.

“Here are your rooms, you can decide which ones you want later, so just put your stuff down here. There’s a bathroom attached to that one I think,” I motioned in the direction of the bedroom with the en suite. “This is my room,” I pointed out and headed back down the stairs. “Here we have the dining room, living room, kitchen, bathroom and the balcony, as you can see,” I explained to them, and headed down the main staircase. “Here is my office area, where we came in, and here,” I began, heading down the last set of stairs, “is my garage.” I flipped on the lights to reveal my garage that had nothing but my car in it.

“Is that your car?” Finn exclaimed, running towards it.

“Yup,” I said. “Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, the newest model.”

“How do you…?”

“How do I what? Afford all of this?”

“Not to be mean but, yeah.” 

“After I came home, I was at my parents’ house. I had no clue what to do, how to start fresh, so I turned to YouTube, as you guys already know. But my brother came home to visit, and was surprised to find me there. He knew something was wrong, because he knew I’d never leave England voluntarily, I loved it there. But he saw the bruises, and I had to tell him. He asked me where I wanted to move, and I said here. So he packed me up and moved me down here. Bought me new clothes, gave me a makeover, got me a car, and put me in a gated apartment community that slightly resembles the place I love. I told him I didn’t need all of this, but he did it anyway. He didn’t consider YouTube to be a ‘real’ platform, so he continued to let me do it. But now it’s taken off and he’s concerned about me being in the public eye. He’s seen the video, which brings me to my next problem. We need to talk.”

“Okay,” Jack said, and turned to Finn, shooting him a look.

“Actually, this involves Finn too.” I added, to make sure that Finn was listening.

“Ah, okay,” Finn said reluctantly.

“My parents want to meet you.”

“Just Jack or the both of us?” Finn asked.

“The both of you,” I replied.

“You don’t have to, and I know it’s really early Jack but they saw the video and my brother explained-”

“I want to do it.” Jack stated.

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely. It was going to happen anyway, right? So why not now.”

“You know it means that we have to go to New York, right?”

“I’ll go anywhere for you, love,” he said, and kissed me.

“What does meeting your parents specifically entail?” Finn said after a moment, effectively killing the mood.

“Well,” I began, stepping away from my boyfriend, clearing my throat, and leaning on my car. “It means we’ll have to fly up there, and given the time frame, my parents will most likely be having their summer closeout barbecue. We’ll get there and we’ll either be picked up or I’ll have to drive to their house. Also, Andrew is coming down to visit and-”

“Andrew?”

“My brother. He’s coming to meet you two. I don’t know why he couldn’t just wait until the party but that’s him. He’s nothing to worry about, I’m sure you two will do just fine.”


End file.
